Egads man, how can you forget a paycheck? If I missed just one, all sorts of collections agencies would be crawling over me.
My parents ran one of those a couple years ago. What turned up was an unclaimed security deposit from an apartment in Florida that they’d lived in about thirty-five years ago. The problem was, the apartment complex wouldn’t release the money until my parents proved they’d lived at the address. Well, going back that far, that’s a problem.
After poking around a bit, they discovered that they’d listed the apartment as their current address on my oldest brother’s birth certificate. So, they supplied the certificate, and they got a check in the mail for about $600.
About a year ago, I was sent an unsolicited letter from some for-profit company informing me that I had unclaimed money. I almost tossed the letter, but the address they had listed was indeed my address years ago. The company wanted a 10% finders fee for getting me the money. Instead, I just looked up the website for unclaimed money in the Texas, and promptly found my name.
It turned out to be a final paycheck from my teaching assistant job at my university, for about $600. I have no idea how I would have missed that paycheck. That was a hell of lot of money for me to lose track of back then.
The stupid thing is that not only was the paycheck issued six months before I graduated, but that the university has been kept informed of every one of my address changes for the last 17 years, and the address that they had listed for me is still a valid way to contact me–it’s my grandparent’s address. :rolleyes:
I collected about $186.00 from the Florida one. It was an insurance credit of some kind. Not a lot but, hey, a kickass pair of shoes! 
Found $16.50 for my wife and $1.47 for myself…whoo hoo! Early retirement!
I’d searched on this a while back, with no luck… but for some reason, I got a hit this time.
It turns out that my father was owed about $1700 from a bank. The only problem- he’s dead… and I don’t have any real information on him. My parents were divorced a long time ago, and I didn’t have much of a relationship with him. How do I prove that I’m his son?
Don’t get me wrong- having the money would be nice… but the main reason I want to get it is that I don’t want the bank to have it…
Is his name on your birth certificate?
Yep, however, it looks like I have to file an Affidavit of Heirship… and, you know, tons of ID. The annoying thing is that I don’t really know that much about him, and I certainly don’t have any of his info- like DL#, SSN, or his death certificate.
If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think the bank gets to keep the money. I think it reverts to the State. I can’t document that, though.
I found 46 cents for myself! Found my sister’s name, and her husbands, and one of her kids! Fun!! (but no retirement for me just yet)
In the US, that is generally correct. It is a process called escheating and each state has their own rules on how long a business can keep funds that are unclaimed. I worked on escheating at Nationwide Insurance and the rule in Ohio at the time at least was 2 years. Our finance department would send me lists of insurance claims checks that hadn’t been cashed and I would research them to see if we needed to reissue or if they should be escheated.
Wow, thanks for posting! I found three different unclaimed amounts in Missouri that are definitely me. Two just say “OVER $50” and one is $2. All three listings show a last known address that is almost 10 years out of date. Crazy. Now I just need a notary…
I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for you…
If I understand this right, you’re waiting for your account to be moved to unclaimed balances so you can claim it. Is that right? Why can’t you just call the bank and tell them you had an account long ago and you don’t remember the account number? I’m sure they can look it up for you, if you can prove who you are.
ETA: Or am I misunderstanding something?
I never took out any loans for anything, don’t smoke, don’t drink, and $15 a year gets me endless entertainment from the SDMB.
If you’re making $4k a month, it’s easy to live on $700-800 or so a month paying rent and buying food.
A few years ago, my brother called from Edmonton. I had nearly $5000.00 in an account that I had forgotten all about. At the time, I was in a bad car accident with a skull fracture and severe concussion. The rest is a very long story that I just erased in order to stay within the thread topic.
Congrats, Savannah, I hope you guys spend it on something fun!
WOW!!! Thanks to this thread, I searched for my own name, and discovered I have $147.81 owed to me from my previous phone company. All I have to do is fill out the form and mail it in.
I found some WalMart stock I had forgotten about from when I worked for Sam’s Club many many years ago… I wonder what it’s worth…
I found $80 for my cousin and emailed my uncle about it. Thanks for the links.
Here’s the list for Illinois. Looks like I’ve got two for “over $100” and one between $10-100.